SUNDAY LOVERS

13

Taraji's POV

It was late and I was feeling restless, while my love rested peacefully beside me. I didn't know what it was but I couldn't sleep. Eventually, I got up to make myself some tea hoping that would do the trick.

Before I left the room, I looked over to make sure I didn't wake her up with all my movement. She was still asleep.

I searched through my kitchen cabinets, and I couldn't find anything that caught my eye. I looked a little deeper towards the back and saw a soothing caramel bedtime tea and I went for it.

Something felt a bit off but I couldn't put my finger on it. Once my tea was warmed, I sat on the couch and turned on the TV. The channel was already on the news and all I could see was a building on fire. At this point I hadn't even read the caption below to get more details on what was happening. The more I looked the more the area surrounding the burning building looked familiar. I leaned in closer towards the TV to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me, and they weren't. It was the church being set on fire. It wasn't just some small fire, the entire building was burning to a point of no repair. I felt my heart pounding and my mouth became so dry. I called out Fantasia's name. " Tasia, baby, come here! Tasia!" She made her way to where I was, and the words seemed to escape me and all I could do was point at the television.

The new caption read, "  Greater Hope for New Beginnings Tree of Life Missionary Temple, set on fire. Two dead. "

The look in Fantasia's eyes was indescribable. It looked like her breath had been cut off. She was stuck in place and the only word she could make out was, " Jesus."

It felt unreal.

A WEEK LATER...

Fantasia sprayed on some perfume, as she prepared to step out for the day. She was finally moving in with Taraji and she needed to get her things out of storage.

" Baby, if you're not feeling well you could just stay here and I could call BeBe to help me move the rest of my stuff." Fantasia reassured Taraji so she didn't feel the obligation to give energy she wasn't able to give at the time. " When I get back I can fix you some homemade soup." She sat on the bed near Taraji, getting as close as she possibly could. She went in for a kiss, but Taraji stopped her before she could complete it.

"No, baby, I don't want you to get whatever I have. Let's fist bump."  They looked at one another and every serious bone in their body left. They laughed at Taraji's solution for not spreading her germs.

"Bye, girl, I can't even take you seriously. You play all day!" Fantasia chuckled as she walked out. " I love you, baby, see you later!" She yelled out.

" I love you too, boo, be safe!" Taraji layed back down and was asleep not even five minutes after Fantasia had left.

It was still pretty early outside, and the birds were singing their songs and chirping at the earth. The early morning breeze floated through the air so fresh and free.

Fantasia scrolled through her phone looking for BeBe's number.

" Hey, BeBe, it's Tasia. I was calling you to ask if you could come over and help me move some of my things out of storage. I'm moving them to Taraji's place. I'll text you the address. Okay, thank you, bye!"

BeBe, Fantasia, and Taraji had been hanging out a little bit more recently. It felt like BeBe and Fantasia were a little bit closer, but none of the three had acknowledged it.

Fantasia sat in the parking lot of the storage building for about thirty minutes before she saw BeBe pulling up. Her smile got wider the closer BeBe got.